"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI

18 July 2016

Why no signs. . .?

16th
Week OT(M)Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OPSt Dominic, NOLA

Up
for the second time that night and headed to the bathroom in a
staggering daze, I was shown a truth about my world I had never
thought to question. There just about three feet from the floor,
hovering in mid-air, is a small glowing object. I stare for a moment,
without my glasses, in the dark, and think for just a second or two
that perhaps the Lord has sent an angel to tell me something amazing.
As I contemplate this greenish-yellow glow, thinking about
revelations, dreams, visions, and prophecies, I am suddenly struck by
the truth of what I am seeing. There it is, as plain as the shine of
a full moon in October, there it is in plain view, and I realize with
a nearly blinding clarity: my
toothbrush glows in the dark!
Then, just being me, the question arises: why would anyone think to
make toothbrushes glow in the dark? Stumbling back to bed, I chuckle
myself to sleep wondering what we would all look like if our teeth
glowed in the dark.

Strictly
speaking, my “vision” of the glowing toothbrush was a discovery
not a revelation. Its discovery was accidental and has no meaning
beyond what I can give it in a homily about seeking after signs of
God’s presence. As a divine sign my glowing toothbrush fails what
we can call here the “From Test;” that is, my toothbrush shining
in the darkness on the sink cannot be said to be “from” God. And
though we can rightly say that anything made is made by a creature
who in turn is created by the Creator and reveals his/her Creator as
a creature, we cannot say that a glowing toothbrush made by a
creature reveals much about God. Signs point the way and make present
that which they signify. Divine signs point the way to God and make
His presence knowable to those who desire to know Him.

The
scribes and Pharisees are understandably both curious and worried
about Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God. They approach him and
make a reasonable request, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from
you.” Traditionally, those claiming to be “sent from God”
provide signs that point to God’s presence and make Him knowable.
These men are educated, pious, intellectually curious, and therefore
rightly seek some indication from this rabble-rousing preacher that
he is who he claims to be. Show us a sign. Jesus’ response
is unexpected and harsh: “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a
sign, but no sign will be given it…” We have to wonder why Jesus
is being so stubborn. We know he is capable of miraculous deeds. Why
not show these men what they need to see?

Jesus
says that no sign will be given to them “except the sign of Jonah
the prophet.” Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three
days and nights, so the Son of Man will be “in the heart of the
earth three days and three nights.” Jonah is expelled from the
whale and goes on to preach repentance to the decadent citizens of
Nineveh. They repent and return to God’s favor. So Jesus too,
expelled from the grave and risen from the dead, will be a sign to
the scribes and Pharisees and a sign to us that Jesus is indeed who
he claims to be. Jesus goes on to add that on the day of judgment,
“the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it,
b/c they repented at the preaching of Jonah…” Needing no other
sign than the earnest preaching of an honest prophet, the citizens of
Nineveh return to God.

Living
here on the edge of the end of the second decade of the 21st
century, can we be counted an “evil and unfaithful generation”
seeking after signs? What signs could we seek? Crying statues? Marian
apparitions? Bleeding Hosts? Yes, all of these and many more. But do
we need these signs? We do not. We have a magisterial Church, her
Eucharist, a divine guarantee against defeat, and pews packed with
priests, prophets, and kings. All of these speak with one voice to
say what is good and what the Lord requires: “Only to do the right
and love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”